


Five Days

by Mattonet



Category: Homestuck
Genre: Angst, But the trolls are still trolls, F/F, Hanahaki Disease, I guess no Sburb, I guess this is an AU, Which one I don't know, this is hard
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-09-05
Updated: 2018-03-05
Packaged: 2018-12-23 17:23:28
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 6
Words: 3,520
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/11994468
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Mattonet/pseuds/Mattonet
Summary: Five days when Roxy Lalonde was dying, and one day when she wasn't.





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> This work is based around a series of six days that show how I believe the Hanahaki Disease progresses. I'll feature a summary of the days at the beginning so you can see where I'm coming from while writing.
> 
> Day One: First petal, one of a flower that symbolizes the person’s love interest. Another petal every so often, not a big deal.

Your name is ROXY LALONE, and you’re totally not in love with your best friend. Your heart doesn’t flutter when she’s online, your stomach doesn’t become a gymnast when you make eye contact, and your mind most definitely doesn’t wander to her when it’s racing.

Speaking of your best friend, JANE CROCKER, she just came online.

And yes, your heart most certainly did not skip a beat.

tG: hey jane  
tG: jane  
tG: jaaaaney  
tG: jaaaaen  
tG: *jane  
gG: Hey, RoLal!  
tG: hey jane

Shit, you didn’t think you’d make it this far. Quick, say something!

tG: i almost burnt down my kitchen today trying to bake a cake  
gG: What?!

Good job. Not only have you successfully lied, but you’ve got a one way ticket to a Crocker Brand lecture. You watch the messages appear hastily on the screen, warning you about the precautions necessary to bake and the importance of following recipes and you bet if you were there she’d have that really cute twinkle in her eye that she usually gets when she talks about baking.

You didn’t just think that, for the record.

As she’s typing, you begin to cough. You think it’s just some built up gunk in your throat, like usual, but you’re taken aback when something is in your mouth. You take whatever it is out and nearly fall out of your chair.

It’s a fucking blue petal.

One search tells you it’s a Forget-Me-Not, and the other confirms your suspicions. The tales were fucking true.

Your name is ROXY LALONDE, and you’re totally in love with your best friend.


	2. Chapter 2

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Roxy is being stubborn, and Rose is having none of it.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Day Two: Petals become more frequent, coughing fits a bit more aggressive. Another petal every tenish minutes.

You take a sip of your iced coffee, taking in the scenery. You’d always loved the atmosphere of Derse - the dark color palette, the constant low chatter of the customers, the way sitting in a booth makes it feel like you have a room to yourself. Your whole family had a tendency to drift toward Derse for these reasons and more, while Jane and her crew liked the bright cafe across the street, Prospit.

Jane. Oh god, here comes more petals.

You cough and wheeze for a few minutes before the petal finally lands on your tongue, and you make quick work of shoving it in your pocket with the others. When you see your favorite (read as only) younger sister, ROSE LALONDE, approaching with her own drink, you smile and wave at her.

“Hey Rosie!” You greet as she sits across from you, sipping at the darkest drink you’ve ever seen.

“Hello, Roxy,” She replies, setting her cup down. You stare at it, chuckling a bit.

“How can you even drink that? It looks like your coffee fell into a bottomless black pit. Where’s the sugar? Where’s the milk? Who hurt that drink?!” You put on your best horror movie face, and you’re disappointed when you only get an eyebrow raise in return.

“Yes, please question my choice of beverage, Miss ‘I-Like-Coffee-In-My-Sugar’.” She quips in response, making you huff.

“Lighten up a bit, Rosie, I’m just playing around,” She chuckles, and goddamnit you’re counting that as a win. “So, how’s it been going? How’s Kanaya?”

“Everything is perfectly fine. Kanaya is still working toward buying a warehouse for her upcoming fashion business, and I have taken to writing novels in my spare time.”

As Rose continues talking, you find yourself completely sidetracked. You’d feel bad if you weren’t silently flipping the fuck out as your play with the petals in your pocket. You continue to smile and nod along with that she’s saying as you go through every possible path, covering what you believe to be every outcome of this godawful disease. It’s not until you feel another coughing fit coming on that you realize that Rose is still talking.

“‘Alack, alack, that heaven should practice stratagems, Upon so soft a subject as myself! What say’st thou? hast thou not a word of joy?’” She says, an eyebrow arched as you make eye contact.

“Oh, shit. Sorry, I lost you for a while. Was that Shakespeare? How the fuck did you just repeat that from memory?” You sputter, taking a sip of your coffee to steady yourself.

She opens her mouth to answer, but your sudden and totally unexpected coughing interrupts her. It takes you a minute or so to clear your throat, and when you do there’s really no way to hide the neon petal as you take it out of your mouth. Rose’s eyes go wide.

“Is that-?” She starts, but you hold up a hand.

“It’s nothing, Rosie. Just a bit of a cough,” You shove the new petal in your pocket with the others. You think you might have to start hiding them in both pockets.

Rose, ever the confident one, grabs the hand you held up to stop her from talking and lowers it onto the table. “Roxy, with all due respect, the Hanahaki Disease is not ‘just a bit of a cough’. What day is it?” 

“It’s the 31st-”

“No. How long have you been experiencing these symptoms?”

You hesitate before looking away. “My first petal appeared yesterday.”

Rose pauses for a minute, deep in thought, before making you look her straight in the eyes. “Who is it?”

“What?” You say, though you’ve clearly heard her. Her demeanor doesn’t change, and you deflate a bit. You consider telling her, but damn it you’re Roxy Lalonde and you don’t go down without a fight. “I don’t know what you’re talking about.”

She lets go of your hand (you didn’t even notice she was still holding on) and checks her phone. “Unfortunately, I’m afraid I’m going to have to cut this talk a bit short. However, do not mistake my leave as a symbol of defeat,” She picks up her drink, sliding her phone back into her pocket. “‘Farewell! God knows when we shall meet again.’”

You watch your sister leave the cafe, and her last remark leaves you with a bitter taste on your tongue. Rose is the fucking Queen of Meddling, and you can feel the bullseye on your forehead.

Suddenly, the atmosphere doesn’t seem that appealing anymore.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Rosie you're my favorite character and I love you to bits but my God you are hard to write


	3. Chapter 3

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Roxy is slowly getting worse, and Rose is having none of it.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Day Three: Petals come in groups, coughing fits are violent, draw blood, and last long periods of time. By the end of the day the person will cough up a whole flower. Another group of petals every couple of minutes.

Your name is ROXY LALONE, and you think you’re dying. No, scratch that. You know you’re dying. You’ve been awake all night, shakily clutching onto a bucket full of blue and red petals. The blood started when groups of petals appeared out of fuck knows where, and you wonder what it’s like to take a deep breath in without throwing up nature.

You literally can’t stop for five minutes without puking petals, and you don’t even try to eat or drink anything. You’d try if you couldn’t feel the flowers tickling at the bottom of your throat, and you don’t want to try and clean up the mess that episode would make.

You’re startled at around 5 pm on your third day of hell by a loud and obnoxious knocking on your front door. You look up at the door, and then chuckle. You probably look like a mess, sweating from the stress of coughing up a garden and blood (some dried, some not) on your chin. The knocking gets a bit louder, and you wince. That is not helping your headache.

“It’s open,” You rasp, the door not being far from the couch where you collapsed yesterday. You didn’t even make it to the couch, you’re sitting on the floor with a bucket of goddamn petals that only remind you of Jane. Dirk would probably say the Forget-Me-Nots are doing their job then, the bastard.

As the door opens, you’re sent into another coughing fit. It lasts a few minutes, and you’re left wheezing and shaking by the end of it. You look down - five petals, a new record. It also drew a fair amount of blood, which you refuse to acknowledge. You can feel it dripping down your chin, taste it in your mouth, and very clearly see that you’re really losing a lot of blood. It’s concerning, but you try and ignore it anyway.

You didn’t realize you were crying until you felt someone wiping the tears away. You look up and there was, lo and behold, your favorite sister. She wearily smiles as you look at her, cleaning the blood off your face with a tissue.

“I thought I was the mother hen, Rosie,” You’re voice is rough and breaking, and your laugh is just as sad sounding. It scares you, sounding so unfamiliar.

“I’m not,” You’re taken aback. No quip, no smirk, no anything that is the Rose Lalonde Aesthetic™. She’s just smiling at you like you’re her daughter and you just came into her room at four in the morning because you’ve had a nightmare.

You clear your throat - oh shit bad idea _bad idea_ **_bad idea_**. You’re about to lean into your bucket but it’s not there and oh God you’re about to cough and this is a fucking white rug. You will not spill blood on this rug, you -

You start to cough, coughing your bloody flowers onto the rug.

It takes a long time to get the particularly large group of petals out of your system, and you have hunch over to grab your stomach in the process because it starts to throb like a bitch. When you finish with your scene, all you can do is cry because everything hurts and you really really wish it would just go away.

This is stupid.

You barely register anything else until a light is being shone in your eyes, and you muster up the strength to look away. The light turns off, and you have to blink to regain your vision.

“Her Reaction Times Are Delayed And I Could See That She Had Lost A Fair Amount Of Blood From Coughing Alone,” You look and see Rose talking with Kanaya by the front door. “If She Will Only Get Worse Tomorrow There Is A Likely Chance She Will Not Survive The Fourth Day At All.”

It takes a minute to set in.

You will probably die tomorrow.

All without confessing to Jane.

“Jane,” You whispered. At least, you thought you did.

You start to cough again, and you’re scared when you feel something coming up your throat. With much hacking and wheezing involved, you managed to expel whatever the fuck it is from your body. When you finally recover from that episode, you look down and flip the fuck out.

Sitting on your rug is an entire Forget-Me-Not, complete with a stem and some roots.

You’re fucked.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I just imagine Rose and Kanaya walking in to see Roxy on the floor clutching a bucket:
> 
> "Kanaya, dear, can you please empty out Roxy's bucket while I check on her condition?"
> 
> "Rose I Do Not Think I Am Entirely Comfortable Doing That,"
> 
> But then Rose is just gone and sitting next to her dying sister while all Kanaya can think about is that bucket and how she has to take it and clean it after it's been used


	4. Chapter 4

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Roxy can't come to the phone, and Jane is having none of it.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Day Four: Coughing fits are the most aggressive, and person will cough up many whole flowers. Roots begin to grow throughout the person’s lungs, making breathing a challenge and many can die before day five. Another flower every half an hour, with petals in between.

It’s around noon on your fourth day when you hear your phone’s ringtone go off. It’s sitting by your computer, which is on the other side of the room. Rose and Kanaya took up fort in your house, and asked you to stay in bed while they come up with a plan. Well, technically they said they were going to take care of you, but you know that they're meddling.

You’re currently sitting on your bed, shakily holding onto a garbage bag (Kanaya said it was bigger and more effective than a bucket, but you know she just didn’t want to touch it again), counting down the minutes until you have to force another flower out again. You watch as your phone stops ringing, a wave of guilt washing over you. What if it was Jane? What if that was your only chance to confess? What if-

Your phone starts to ring again. Now you know it’s Jane.

You crawl over to the end of your bed, and realize that you need something to lean on if you want to get across the room in one piece. Maneuvering over to the bedpost, you manage to stand up. You’re a bit lightheaded, but that seems to be the only thing that’s stopping you so far. You take this as a good sign for once.

You see that your phone stopped ringing, and you start to panic as it rings again. If you don’t answer this time, Jane will come stomping over here, demanding why you haven’t answered her like a good friend. You absolutely cannot have this happen, in any way, ever.

Taking a shallow breath in (it would be a deep breath, but between the roots taking hostage of your lungs and the flower that’s going to appear in about six minutes, you can’t risk it) and start to walk over. You’re shaky, and your balance is off, so you’re forced to stick out your arms. You would laugh at the sight if it didn’t seem so damn depressing.

When you reach your desk, you collapse into your desk chair and grab your phone. You quickly answer the call.

“Roxy, thank goodness you answered! I was beginning to get worried,” Jane sighed, and it made you smile for the first time in a couple of days.

“Sorry, Janey,” You rasp, and you kick yourself because you forgot how terrible you sound.

“Roxy? What’s wrong? Are you sick?” She asked, and your stomach twisted. She can not come over, ever.

“Nah, I just woke up. I’m fine,” That’s the best excuse you can come up with, and you know Jane won’t believe it.

“RoLal, if you’re sick, you have to let me know. I’d feel awful if I'm sitting here while my best friend is suffering all alone!” You can only focus on the ‘best friend’ part. It stings a bit, to be honest.

“Jane, I’m perfectly fine. Besides, Rosie is coming over to visit today. I won’t be alone and I’m not sick. Just a bit groggy from sleeping in, that’s all,” You’re a terrible liar. You know that, Jane knows that, everybody knows that. There’s a pause.

“Well, okay. If you need anything, you know where I am,” Yet somehow you manage to get Jane off your back.

“I know, Janey.”

“Anyway, I was wondering if you wanted to meet up at Prospit tomorrow for dinner. I asked you over pesterchum already, but you didn’t answer,” Jane says, her tone deflating a bit toward the end of her sentence.

“I slept in, remember? And yeah, I’d be honored to have dinner with you,” You pause. ‘I’d be honored to have dinner with you’?? Who says that? Rose probably says that. You’re turning into Rose. Goddamnit, this is not the time to be channeling your inner Rose Lalonde.

She laughs. “Great, how does 5:30 work for you?” Another win for Rose - you mean Roxy Lalonde.

“5:30 is great,” You look at the clock, and you feel another fit coming on. “Okay well I have to gonowbye!” You hang up just as you start to cough.

The coughing itself was never fun, but you only realize you fucked up when you ended up falling out of your chair in the process. Now there’s pain from coughing up the flower and from falling on your side. Great! When you manage to get the flower out you, you realize that Rose is kneeling next to you.

“Roxy, why are you sitting on the floor?”

“Because I fell out of my chair.”

“And why were you sitting in your chair?”

“Because I had a phone call,” It was then that you remembered you made plans with Jane that you couldn’t keep. “but I think I screwed up, really, really bad.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Roxy realized that if she was going to be worse on the fifth day, she wasn't going to be able to meet Jane


	5. Chapter 5

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Roxy can't get out of bed, and Jane is having none of it.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Day Five: Roots grow at an impressive rate, and by nightfall if nothing has been done then breathing will become impossible, effectively killing the person. Breathing is very difficult, which limits the physical activity the person can do. Most likely stuck in bed, they are forced to make the decision or face their end. Another flower every two hours, with petal groups only coming every half an hour. Blood coughs are also common on this day.

Your name is ROXY LALONDE, and you only have an hour before you die. You’ve deduced that by the way Rose is pacing and looking at the clock constantly, muttering the time under her breath just before cursing. Kanaya is constantly checking your vitals and the growth of the roots in your lungs, which are spreading a little bit by the second. You’re constantly coughing, whether it be petals, flowers, or more commonly blood - because you have so much of that left to spare.

None of that bothers you right now. All you know is that you hate yourself for ditching Jane.

You haven’t slept or ate anything since the beginning of day three, combined with the constant loss of blood makes it really hard to do virtually anything besides lay in bed and rethink your prior stubbornness. Who knew?

It’s around eight o’clock at night when breathing becomes a constant fight, and you’re forced to sit up to try and help the flow of oxygen. It’s also around this time when someone pounds on your door. You’d think it’s too good to be true if you didn’t give up hoping two hours ago. Nevertheless, Kanaya ends up running to answer the door and you’re left in your bedroom with the most nervous Rose you’ve ever seen. She keeps looking at you and the clock, typing furiously away at her phone in between. If you had to take a guess, she’s talking to Dave.

You flinch as the door is swung open, revealing a furious Jane Crocker. Rose almost immediately puts her phone away.

“Roxy Lalonde, you better have a good explanation for-!” Her anger fades away as she actually looks at you. “For not telling me that you were sick, oh gosh,” She’s at your side now, examining the flowers that litter your bed. She takes one in her hand, running the pad of her thumb over a patch of dried blood as the looks at it.

You manage a smile as you make eye contact again. You’re forced to look away as you start to cough, and a minute later you remove a singular, blood soaked petal from your mouth.

Jane’s eyes go wide at the sight, and she takes your hand. She looks like she’s about to cry, and you can’t let that happen because goddamnit you’re Roxy Lalonde and you refuse to be the reason why Jane Crocker is crying. 

You’re lightheaded and dizzy, a combination you haven’t felt at once since you stopped drinking. Pushing that thought aside, you take a deep breath in (despite the roots) and manage to whisper the long awaited phrase: “I love you, Jane Crocker.”

The last thing you remember before blacking out is leaning in for a hug.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Dun dun DUN


	6. Chapter 6

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Jane blames herself, and Roxy is having none of it.
> 
> AKA: They have a chat.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> If the person succeeds in admitting, the disease will die. The end is symbolized with either a dyed petal to show the mixing of two people, or a wilted petal to show the end of a relationship. This is dependant on the result of the confession.
> 
> If the person does not confess in time, or at all, the flowers will take over their body. The spread of the flowers could take anywhere from a few minutes to a few hours. The one thing that is present in all cases, however, is that the flowers sprout out of the person’s mouth instantaneously after their time is over, making it impossible to confess and admit.

It's the pounding in your head and the ringing in your ears that wake you up. Upon opening your eyes, you realize that everything is too bright, and instantly close them. Deciding to try again, you blinked a few times before you could see without blinding yourself.

Looking around, you realize that you're in a hospital room, and that there are way too many needles in your arms. You also realize that there are other people in the room as well. On your left, Rose is laying on Kanaya’s shoulder, passed out. Kanaya, on the other hand, was reading a book.

On your right, Jane Crocker. 

She was typing away furiously at her phone, her leg anxiously bouncing up and down. Her eyes were puffy, and there were tear tracks on her face. Expertly deducing that those were because of your confession, you decided you cannot let that stand.

You built up whatever strength you had and said, “Janey.” Your voice was super raw, and you reminded yourself of a dying mule, but that all went away when Jane looked up.

Her eyes lit up and she almost smiled before she started to cry. She ran over to you, carefully pulling you into a hug. As much as it pained you, you decided not to move to comfort her, so you had enough energy to talk.

When she had calmed, she pulled back, smiling. “Thank God you're alright.”

“Of course I'm alright, I'm Roxy Lalonde.” You managed a weak smile, and Jane chuckled. Another point for RoLal.

“If I hadn't come over…” Jane trailed off, and your smile disappeared. Another point taken away from RoLal.

“Don't think like that. It'll only get you down.” She looked away, and you had to say something. “Hey, at least I'm here now. And I confessed. These are all good things that we should focus on,” Great thinking, Roxy.

“You're right,” Maybe it was great thinking.

“I'm always right,” You smile, and she laughed.

“In your dreams, RoLal,” She paused, thinking. “What made you wait that long to confess, anyway?”

Shit, she had you there. “Stubbornness, probably. Besides, I didn't want to ruin our friendship because I wanted more. Also, I didn't think those feelings were that big of a deal, until...”

“Five days ago,” Jane finished, and you nodded. “It's a shame, really.”

“What?”

“If I had known earlier, I probably could have done this a lot sooner,” You were about to question her when all of a sudden Jane’s lips were somehow on yours.

HOLY SHIT YOU'RE KISSING JANE CROCKER.

She pulled away after a while, and you instantly felt a tickle in your throat. You started coughing, and within a minute or so there was something in your mouth. Taking it out, it was a familiar-looking petal. However, instead of pure blue, it was tie-dyed with pink. Looking up at Jane, tears in your eyes, she smiled and pulled you into another kiss.

Your name is ROXY LALONDE, and you're in love with your girlfriend, JANE CROCKER.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I might have forgotten this story exists and I might've rushed this chapter, but it's finally finished! Yay!

**Author's Note:**

> I'm not good at writing it only goes downhill from here


End file.
